Medjugorje, the Marian faith and
the decision of the Pastor
 |
| Medjugorje |
The authorization of pilgrimages is a sign of recognition of
the good that happens in the parish shrine, where many people come closer to
the sacraments
Vatican City - Andrea Tornielli
In order to understand the reasons and the profound meaning
of Pope Francis' decision to authorize pilgrimages to Medjugorje, it is useful
to re-read some passages of the apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium, the
document that traces the course of his pontificate. In that text, the Pope
recalled that "in popular piety one can grasp the way in which the faith
received has incarnated itself in a culture and continues to be
transmitted". He also recalled, citing the words of the final document of
the Conference of Latin American Bishops in Aparecida, that "walking
together towards sanctuaries and participating in other manifestations of
popular piety, bringing with one another children or inviting others, is in
itself an act of evangelization". "Let us not coerce or pretend to
control this missionary force," concluded the Pontiff.
It is a fact that millions of pilgrims in recent years have
had a significant experience of faith on their way to Medjugorje: this is
attested to by the long lines at confessionals and the evening Eucharistic
adoration in the large parish church without a square metre free filled with
kneeling faithful.
Pope authorizes pilgrimages to Medjugorje
"I believe" that "in Medjugorje there is
grace. There is no denying it. There are people who convert," said the
Pope in 2013 in dialogue with Father Alexandre Awi Mello, a Mariologist and now
Secretary of the Department for the Laity, the Family and Life. In that
interview, transformed into a book (It's My Mother. Meetings with Mary, Città
Nuova editions), Pope Francis certainly warned against the protagonism of the
visionaries and the multiplication of messages and secrets, but without ever
disregarding the positive fruits of the experience of pilgrimages. In the
preface to that book, the Argentine theologian Carlos María Galli wrote: "For
Francis the most important thing is the Marian faith of the "holy people
faithful to God", which teaches us to love Mary beyond theological
reflection. As a son and member, like any other, of the People of God,
Bergoglio - Francis - participates in the sensus fidei fidelium and identifies
himself with the profound Marian piety of the Christian people".
It is precisely for this reason that, by continuing to study
the phenomenon of Medjugorje and without there being a pronouncement on the
authenticity of the apparitions, the Pope intended to acknowledge those who
face the hardships of the journey to go and pray in that place. For this reason
he wanted his own permanent envoy, a bishop from the Holy See, who was in
charge of the pastoral care of the pilgrims. And for this reason he now decides
to go beyond what was declared more than twenty years ago by the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, which allowed pilgrimages to Medjugorje but only
"in a private way". Now, instead, dioceses and parishes will be able
to organize and guide those pilgrimages which are an expression of the Marian
piety of the people of God.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét